An Arc's Promise
by Kuroyami Fukaikuro
Summary: Ten years after the end of the Grimm War, Jaune Arc has disappeared from the public face of Remnant. Now, he lives a simple life, farming away at the edge of civilization, content to live the rest of his days in peace. But the world still needs heroes, and heroes need teachers, and his life will become much less peaceful when an old friend stops by for a visit. (Two-Shot)
1. Chapter 1

An Arc's Promise

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

**Author's Note: So uh, I know this isn't the next chapter of Sins of the Forefathers. Sorry about that, but I was browsing the site and got inspired by another fic and this wouldn't let itself go.**

**For reference, the fic in question was **The Old Knight of Remnant **by **Voldugu Conqueror. **I read it and thought to myself, "This is a good premise, but I would do things differently." So I did. This isn't a whole series - it's just going to be a two-shot. The next and final chapter should be up in a few days, and after that I'll get right on SotF.  
**

* * *

The beast growled as the man entered its domain. Slowly, it crept along the underbrush, keeping low and silent as it snuck up on the man.

As it got closer, it could tell that the man was familiar- he had been edging into its territory for the past few days, cutting down trees and clearing land.

That would end today.

Soon, the beast was behind the man. With a snarl, it swung a mighty, meaty claw at him, prepared to cleave his torso clean off-

Only for the man to block the strike with a single hand.

Before the beast could react, the man turned and slammed the wood cutting axe into the beasts head, cleaving its jaw in two.

The Beowolf died, never realizing who or what it had just attacked.

* * *

Wake up.

Eat.

Go out.

Work.

Fight.

Kill.

Come home.

Eat.

Read. Maybe.

Drink.

Sleep.

Dream about the people he'd killed. The people he'd lost.

Wake up again.

* * *

For the past ten years, that had been Jaune Arc's routine.

Ever since the end of the Second Great War, where all of Remnant had banded together to defeat Salem, Lady of the Grimm, once and for all, he had stepped away from society.

The last time he'd been to any of the major cities was nine years ago, to attend Ren and Nora's wedding.

After that, however? There was no reason for him to go back. The world would do fine without him. Better, even.

Now, he lived alone, eking out a simple existence in the wilds. Occasionally he would visit a small village for supplies, and maybe a new book to read, but he had almost completely become self sufficient.

The others visited, of course, whenever they could. Weiss, Blake, Ren and Nora - whenever they weren't busy, they would come by and see how he was doing. Or, if it had been a while and they had grown worried, to see if he was still alive.

He was doing alright, thank you very much. The corn field was doing well this season, and soon he would clear out enough land to start another field. He was considering cabbage. And how was Beacon? Doing well? Give Headmaster Oscar his regards, would you? No, he doesn't think he'll be attending this years Memorial Service either, but he'll watch it on the village tv.

However, as the sun began to set and he returned home on this day, he had the feeling the conversation would go a bit differently.

For one, it was Ruby, come to visit for the first time since he'd left. And my, had she grown - gone was the short, skinny girl he had called his Captain. Now, standing there was a tall, confident woman, almost reaching his height. Her hair now reached down to her back, where a red military-style cape replaced her old cloak, kept in place by the epaulettes on her shoulders. She wore a uniform - her uniform, that of the General of the Valean Armed Forces. It was prim and neat, a dark grey with red highlights befitting her style, and well shined brass buttons.

Crescent Rose 2.0 ("Just call her CR2 for short!") hung from her left leg, the original destroyed in their final battle with Cinder. This one had been the weapon to destroy Salem. Unlike the original, she had opted to adopt her mother's fighting style, choosing to make a longsword that could extend into a spear. She lost the ability to shoot for momentum, but she could still snipe as well as ever with its rifle form.

More important, however, was what she had in her hands.

Crocea Mors.

His weapon, and his father's before him, and his father's before him, so on and so forth.

After the war, Jaune had taken it with him - it, like he, had seen enough bloodshed. He had hung it above his fireplace, where it belonged - for use as an art piece, not a weapon.

As he approached, Ruby smiled and greeted him.

"Hey. Nice beard."

He nodded back. "Hey yourself. It's a little rude to go into someone's house uninvited, you know."

"Well, I needed water."

"You broke into my house because you were thirsty?"

"What else was I gonna do?"

"There's a well right there!" He shouted, pointing to it in the field.

She shrugged, passing the sword between her hands. "Oops. Still, I can't believe you just hung this up over your fireplace like that."

Gruffly, he crossed over and reached out for Crocea Mors. "What's it to you?"

She turned away, pacing with the sword. "I just think it's kinda funny, in a sad way. How the both of you fought in a war, only to fade away without any notice."

"Me and the sword?"

"You and your ancestor, Gaius. You both took part in the biggest wars of your time, and yet once it ended, you left society and started anew in some backwater in the wilds."

"What's the point of this, Ruby?"

She turned to face him.

"Come back with me, Jaune. The world still needs you. I… I still need you."

"You told me exactly how much you needed me after we killed Salem."

She winced at that. "I know. I'm sorry. For that, it- it wasn't very mature." Her voice hardened. "But neither is turning your back on the world and ignoring the problems that still need solving."

"I didn't turn my back on anything. I did my part, and when the dust settled, the world didn't need any more soldiers. It didn't need any more killers… it needed healers. And Semblance aside, that's not what I am."

"But it could be. You didn't always used to be a killer. You changed… you can change back."

"…"

"Do you really think they would be happy to see you this way? Alone, destitute, drunk and depressed? Even Uncle Qrow had us to help him, but you don't have anyone out here."

"Ruby…"

"I'm just saying, I don't think anyone would be happy to see you like this. I know I'm not, and I know your father wouldn't be…"

"That's enough!"

Things went silent for a single, tense moment as they sized each other up.

"Pyrrha definitely wouldn't-"

"RRRRRRRAGH!"

With a roar, Jaune slammed his fist into Ruby's stomach, sending her flying even as his left hand seized Crocea Mors from her grip.

Though it had been ten years since he last touched it, the blade sang as Jaune drew it from the sheath, transforming it into a shield just in time to block Ruby's initial barrage of shots.

He charged forward, blocking more of Ruby's shots with ease as he closed the distance.

As he got closer, she transformed CR2 into its spear mode, intending to use the range to keep him within her preferred engagement distance.

It was what she would always do, back when she was still learning how to use it - and he would be beaten, time and again as they sparred, kept away and unable to hit her.

Things had changed.

Still, he let her keep him at bay for a few moments, analyzing her patterns and openings as he hid behind his shield. Then, when he saw her begin another triple-thrust pattern-

He blocked the first strike with his shield before disengaging it from his arm entirely.

She tried to step back, but Jaune wrapped his arm around CR2's shaft, keeping it still as he tackled her, headbutting Ruby on the way down.

As they landed, he mounted Ruby, swinging his legs over her torso and keeping her pinned as he slammed the pommel of Crocea Mors into her face.

Over and over again he struck, keeping her too dazed to resist, until finally her Aura broke and he paused.

As he did, she groaned and turned one half-lidded eye up towards him.

With a great cry, he slammed the blade into the dirt above her head, before leaning on it and breaking into sobs.

"Why?" He shouted down at her, tears dripping onto her face. "Why'd they have to send you? Anyone else, I could have dealt with, could have turned away easily, but you, I…"

Slowly, feebly, Ruby reached up and grabbed the front of Jaune's shirt. He stilled and looked down just in time for Ruby to force his head down, headbutting him back off of her.

As he lay in the dirt, Ruby got up, forgoing her weapon as she walked over to him, rubbing her forehead. Gently, she knelt down next to him and began stroking his cheek.

"No one sent me, Jaune. I came on my own terms."

He grabbed her hand as he sat up, eyeing her warily. He let go, and she simply dropped it into her lap.

"And what are those terms, Ruby? Why did you come here?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's because I-"

"Mommy!?"

Jaune whipped his head around to see two children burst out from his house and run towards them. As they approached, Jaune noticed they were fraternal twins, a boy and a girl. The girl had her - apparent - mother's silver eyes, and long blonde hair in a ponytail. The boy had Ruby's hair, cut short and messy, but blue eyes.

As they got close, they skirted around Jaune to hide behind Ruby.

"Mommy, who is this?" the boy asked. "Is this the man you're looking for?"

"Did you two fight?" The girl interrupted as she looked around at the field, crops and dirt torn up from the sheer speed of their movement.

Ruby smiled down at her children. "We did."

"Was it awesome?!" The girl cheered at the thought. "I can't believe you didn't let us watch!"

"Ruby…" Jaune began, "who-"

"Who's the father?"

Jaune nodded, but he had a guess what the answer was.

"Jaune, say hello to Yang and Jacob Rose-Arc. Our kids."

"O-our?" He muttered weakly.

She nodded and turned back to the kids. "Jacob, to answer your questions, this is the man I was looking for. This is Jaune Arc, your father."

"You fought with dad!?"

Ruby coughed, embarrassed. "It was more like a… long-time-no-see spar. Friends do that."

"So this is dad?" Jacob asked as he approached Jaune, walking around him and taking him in.

"Why were you all the way out here, daddy?" Yang asked as she did the same.

"Well, uh-"

Jaune shut up as Ruby placed her hand on his shoulder. "Kids, you know your father fought in the final battle against Salem with me, right?"

"Yeah!" They cheered. "Of course we do, it's our favorite story!"

"Well, afterwards…" she gave Jaune a worried glance before reaching out and grabbing his hand, entwining her fingers around his. "Afterwards, your father realized that- that he wasn't done fighting. There were still monsters he had to beat. And he's been fighting them for the past ten years."

"All on his own?" Jacob said in awe.

"Dad must be super strong!"

"He's the strongest man I know," Ruby said proudly. She let go of his hand for a moment as she stood up and dusted herself off, before offering him her hand once more.

He accepted it as he rose.

* * *

_The fires raged around him as he crawled out from beneath the wreckage._

_Screams echoed around him from distant battles as the Grimm forces tore through the Atlesian Air Fleet, and hundreds of other Huntsmen._

_They had made a terrible mistake._

_They thought that with all the world banded together, they could finally wipe out the Grimm once and for all. The Atlesian air fleet would bombard Salem's tower, wiping out the majority of their forces, and then the combined might of the Huntsmen of four nations would clean out the remainder before taking the fight to Salem herself, where Ruby, Oscar, and the Four Maidens - Weiss, Emerald, Yang, and Neo - could combine their powers and defeat her utterly._

_As with all plans, however, this one went to shit the moment the battle began._

_They had underestimated exactly how much control Salem had over the Grimm. _

_As the battle began, the Air Fleet did indeed bombard the ground Grimm- but then, Salem released not one, but three Grimm Dragons, which made short work of the air fleet, breathing some dark miasma that corrupted the ships and made them crash and explode, or melted them outright._

_Jaune was lucky. His ship was only clipped by the miasma, leading it to crash relatively intact a few miles from the Tower._

_Which led to now._

_He pulled himself upright outside of the ship. No one else on the bridge had survived, and he didn't have time to waste searching the whole wreckage for other survivors._

_The battle needed him on the ground, fighting the Grimm._

_He walked through the battlefield, felling the occasional Beowolf or Ursa that came at him. From time to time he looked up, at Salem's Tower, and the bright lights and explosions that would burst from within._

_Clearly, the final battle had begun._

_As he waded through the chaos, he occasionally stopped to check on a body he passed, seeing if they were still alive - or if they weren't, seeing if they had anything useful, like spare Dust or grenades._

_The more corpses he checked, the more distraught he became at their chances of winning._

_Still, he was lucky enough to find a few living Atlesian soldiers, and some Huntsmen with minor injuries. He did his best to heal them with his Semblance and lead them onwards, where the fighting was still going strong._

_However, as the group got closer, he came across two bodies that gave him pause._

_Qrow Branwen and Winter Schnee._

_Their weapons lay shattered on the ground near them. Qrow's body was torn asunder, his legs ripped off entirely, and his stomach bleeding freely. Winter had been decapitated, head laying near Qrows' feet, her body ravaged by the teeth of whatever had finally laid her low._

_Despite everything, the sight of these two, great warriors who far surpassed him in strength, reduced to nothing but broken flesh-_

_He collapsed to the ground and vomited. Behind him, he could hear a few of his followers doing the same, as the stress amongst them peaked out._

"_Kid…"_

_Jaune's face shot up to see Qrow's eyes open slightly, his right arm reaching out._

"_Jaune…"_

_Without hesitation, Jaune ran forward and tried to use his Semblance to heal Qrow, but-_

"_Don't waste your Aura, Jaune. I'm all out, there's nothing to enhance… and besides."_

_He glanced down at the state of his body._

"_There's no coming back from something like this."_

_In tears, Jaune let out an anguished cry as he struck the ground, causing a small crater from the force._

"_Cry later, kid. I need you to do something for me."_

_Jaune took a deep breath as he pulled himself together and looked at Qrow. "Anything."_

_Qrow nodded towards his hip flask. "Give me one last drink, aye? I can't move my arms anymore."_

_Jaune nodded and grabbed the flask, unscrewing the lid and pouring the contents down Qrow's throat. _

_As he swallowed, he looked up. "Thanks, Jaune. I needed that. Now leave me here, and go help Ruby and Yang, dammit. They still need you."_

_Jaune nodded, and made to stand.  
_"_One last thing, kid."_

_Jaune looked down at Qrow._

"_Promise me, Jaune. Promise me you'll take care of them."_

"_I will. An Arc never goes back on his word."_

_With a final nod to each other, Jaune left Qrow behind to die, lying on the rock._

_Some of his followers saluted Qrow as they passed him._

_None of them looked back._

* * *

With a gasp, Jaune sat upright in bed and looked around.

His room was dark, and empty save for him. Ruby and the kids- _his kids- _were in the guest room.

He sighed, resigned himself to another night without sleep, and got up.

He left the room and went downstairs to his kitchen. He started to reach for a bottle of whiskey, but stopped himself. Instead, he began preparing some tea to calm his nerves, saying nothing as Ruby slid into a chair at the kitchen table.

"One for me, please."

He nodded and brought out a second cup. They waited in silence for the water to boil, and once it was ready, Ruby gratefully accepted her cup.

"Bad dreams?" Jaune asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Who was it for you?"

"Neo. You?"  
"Qrow."

They sat quietly for a moment as they processed what they remembered. After a moment, Jaune held his hand out, and Ruby grasped it, each drawing strength from the other.

"So what did you actually come here for? Aside from the obvious."

"I told you, I want you to come back. The world is definitely better, but it's not like the Grimm are all gone, as I'm sure you know from living out here. We've sealed the Grimm pools as best we can, but there's more to it than that. Stuff we don't quite understand, probably due to them being the literal creations of a god. The world still needs Huntsmen. And Huntsmen-"

"Still need teachers?"

She nodded again.

Jaune sighed before taking a deep draught of his tea.

"Ruby, I'm glad to see you. I am. But I don't know…"

"Jaune…"  
"It's been ten years, Ruby. There's a lot I haven't kept up with."

"We can catch you up, Jaune. You don't need to be afraid of coming back. None of us blame you for leaving-"

"Not even you? Not even for what I did- to you?"

"No," Ruby said, squeezing his hand harder. "Not even me. I mean, I was mad for a while, of course. But I figured… I figured that you were there, on the ground. I didn't see nearly as much as you did. We all lost a lot, but you lost more than anyone. And what I said to you afterward, about leaving Qrow behind-"

She stopped, took a sip of tea as she considered her words.

"I was wrong to say those things. I know that there was nothing you could have done. It doesn't make the loss any easier, but then I keep reminding myself how much it must have hurt _you_ to have to leave him behind like that. And it makes forgiving you easier."

"Ruby, I-"

She reached out and placed a finger on his lips. "Don't apologize. You've done more than enough of that."

She glanced back towards the guest bedroom.

"As for the kids… it was rough going at first, but we learned. We adapted. And since you'd left, I could never get mad at them for anything. It was like they were all I had of you."

She finished her tea and got up.

"I'm not mad anymore, Jaune. Like you said, it's been ten years and I've moved on from that. The only question now is whether you're willing to move on, or if you'll stay here and spend the rest of your life wallowing in your own misery alone."

She moved to go back to her room, but was held back by Jaune, still clinging to her hand.

"Ruby, I-" He coughed. "I noticed you aren't wearing a ring. After all these years, you-?"

She smiled, turned and leaned down to kiss him, deep and loving, lasting for quite a while. When she got back up she simply said, "I've never loved anyone but you," and went back to bed.

Jaune sat there the rest of the night until he finished his tea, thinking hard about the choice in front of him, occasionally touching his lips, trying to remember the sensation of what was merely the fifth kiss they had shared.

* * *

As the sun rose over the field, Ruby, Jacob, and Yang all stood at the edge of Jaune's property, looking down the road towards the nearest village. From there, a bullhead would pick them up and take them home.

"Is daddy not gonna come with us?" Jacob asked, looking back at the house. "Does he still have monsters to fight?"

"Well…" Ruby glanced back at the house, and, seeing no movement, sighed and started walking. "It's okay. Your father will be fine. We can come visit him again, okay?"  
"Okay!" Yang cheered. "Next time, I wanna see you guys fight! If he's as strong as you, mommy, then his moves are probably super cool!"

"They sure are, Yang. He's one of the best swordsmen in the wo-"

She stopped and stared down the road as there, sitting and leaning on a tree, was Jaune. He had trimmed his beard into a manageable shape, a circle around his mouth mixing a goatee and mustache. Crocea Mors hung from his waist, and two suitcases lay on the ground next to him, along with a backpack.

As she stared in shock, the kids ran up and cried happily, jumping and giving their father a hug. He held them close, smiling and laughing with them before picking them up and walking towards Ruby.

She stared, shocked, before simply accepting the situation for the victory it was and hugging both Jaune and the kids together.

Once they had all had their moment, Jaune grabbed his bags and walked with them to town, and into the days to come.


	2. Chapter 2

An Arc's Promise

By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro

* * *

_In memory of those who fought against Salem._  
_All gave some._  
_Some gave all._

* * *

_Pyrrha Nikos. Yang Xiao Long._  
_Maria Calavera._  
_Ozma "Ozpin" Ozymandias. Professor Glynda Goodwitch. Professor Thumbelina Peach. Professor Peter Port. Doctor Bartholemew Oobleck._  
_Raven Branwen. Qrow Branwen._  
_Ghira Belladonna. Ilia Amitola._  
_Hei "Junior" Xiong. Miltia Malachite. Neo Politan. Mercury Black._  
_Reese Chloris._  
_Brawnz Ni. Roy Stallion._  
_Nebula Violette. Dew Gayl. Gwen Darcy. Octavia Ember. Fox Alistair. Yatsuhashi Daichi._  
_Sage Ayana. Scarlet David._  
_Russel Thrush. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark._  
_Edward Caspian. Carmine Esclados. Bertilak Celadon._  
_Jacques Schnee._  
_General James Ironwood. Colonel Winter Schnee. Major Caroline Cordovin. Captain Ciel Soleil. Lieutenant Flynt Coal._  
_Colonel Jacob Arc._

* * *

Jaune stared at the monument in front of him. Etched into marble was the names of everyone who had lost their lives in the final battle against Salem. It was a circle of stones, standing fifteen feet high, with a forty foot radius, made to replace the old statue of the Huntsmen warriors that used to grace Beacon's entryway - that had been destroyed in the Fall of Beacon.

It was his first time seeing it in person, and he walked around it, mesmerized, as he read all the names he could, seeing if he recognized any of them.

As it turned out, he recognized too many.

"Jaune? My gods, is that actually you?"

Jaune turned and saw Cardin Winchester coming towards him. In the years since the final battle, he'd clearly changed. An eyepatch covered his left eye, the result of an Ursa's surprise attack. The Atlas military had offered cybernetic replacements to many of the battle's survivors, Cardin included. Some had accepted, but he, like many, had opted instead to learn to live with their new disabilities as a badge of honor. He still wore his armor, though it had grown more elaborate as he'd developed. Now, instead of just simple plate, there was a chain shirt and chain skirt protecting him underneath the metal, as well as gauntlets to protect his hands. The front of his breastplate bore the insignias of his three teammates, in memory of their lives. It had also been expanded to accommodate a surprising beer belly.

Long ago, he had been a bully, arrogant and brash, pushing around anyone he thought he could.

Now, however…

Without hesitation, Cardin wrapped his arms around Jaune in a hug that would have killed a normal man. After staggering back for a moment, Jaune returned it.

"It's good to see you, Cardin."

"You too! I guess Ruby managed to convince you to leave your little hovel?"

"My farm was not a hovel," Jaune said indignantly. "Besides, I don't wanna hear that from someone who's clearly had too much of the fruits of victory. Emulating Port, are we?" He poked Cardin's sizable stomach.

Cardin laughed a hearty laugh. "Ah, whatever, it's great to have you back! The others are going to be so happy to see you. Ren and Nora are in Mistral right now, running their orphanage, Weiss is in Atlas teaching at the Academy, and Blake is currently running some ambassador recruitment trip in Menagerie. But I bet they'll rush over here as soon as they hear you're back."

"How's the school been doing these past ten years?"

"Well enough. Recruitment rates are lower than they were in our time, but that's mostly because the biggest threats have all passed. Nowadays, we mostly train people to be diplomats. Just, you know, diplomats capable of fighting Grimm and powerful criminals."

"Any idea what position they brought me back for?"

"Oscar had an idea for a combat tactics and strategy class. Any of us could have run it, but when he talked to Ruby about it, she said that no one was better at that sort of thing than you."

"Ruby did?"

"Yeah. Some of the others tried to argue for Weiss to transfer here from Atlas, but she defended you. Said that you were ultimately responsible for the plan that took out Salem."

He glanced down at Jaune as he said that, noting Jaune's wince.

"I was, but… I'm not proud of that plan. If we had known more-"

"It's easy to say 'if', Jaune." Cardin placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder. "If we had gone with General Ironwood's plan, most people estimate that thousands more would have died."

He looked up at the memorial, at the names of his teammates. "I won't say that I'm not bitter about what we lost. But I'm happy that we didn't lose more."

They stood there in silence for another few moments before they were interrupted by the arrival of another.

"Daddy!" Jaune and Cardin turned to see a young girl, maybe five, run up to them. Brown rabbit ears adorned her head and long, orange-brown hair was styled into braids. She leaped up and was easily caught by Cardin, who gave her a much softer hug.

"Wait, you and Velvet?"

Cardin laughed again. "Time moves on, Jaune. Can't stay in the past forever."

"Daddy, who is this?"

"Selina, honey, this is Jaune Arc. He's one of the guys who fought with me in the war. Jaune, this is my daughter, Selina."

"You fought in the war?" Selina asked, looking at Jaune.

"Uh, yeah. I was in charge of one of the Atlesian battleships." An oversimplification, but it served well enough as an explanation.

"Selina, sweetie, where's your mommy?"

"Mommy is at the library with Auntie Coco again. They're doing reading about ag-agri-" She scrunched her face up as she thought before finishing, "Special farming stuff."

"In that case, let's go help her out, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright. See you later, Jaune!"

"Bye bye!"

Jaune waved as Cardin and his daughter walked off into the school, taking a left towards the library.

"She's cute, isn't she?"

Jaune turned to see Ruby walk up behind him.

"They didn't get married until just last year, despite their kid. Cardin's parents weren't happy about him falling in love with a Faunus… Eventually, he decided to excommunicate himself from them. He took Velvet's name."

Jaune nodded silently. "Where are the- our kids?"

"I dropped them off with my dad for now. He's got an apartment in the city - can't exactly maintain our old house in Patch by himself with his legs gone."

She walked forward, past the monument. As she did so, she briefly kissed her fingers and tapped on Yang's name before passing by.

"Come on, I'll take you to see Oscar. The school's building structure has changed a little bit since the reconstruction."

He followed her through the halls, looking around as they passed the occasional change. Students occasionally stopped and stared, whispering among themselves as he followed Ruby around. It was only natural - a General of the Valean Military, leading some stranger around? That kind of thing just didn't happen every day.

Eventually, they reached a large door that was labeled, "Headmaster's Office". "On the ground floor?"

"Oscar wanted to be more accessible than Ozpin. More able to understand the people he led, and easier for students to approach if they had problems."

Jaune nodded before walking up and knocking on the door.

"Come in!" a man's voice called out.

As they entered, Jaune took note of the office. A well built mahogany desk was covered with documents, with Oscar sat there. Oscar had grown as well, now around the same height as Ruby, and filled out, broad shouldered and with a tight, toned physique. There were bookshelves filled with all manner of texts, filing cabinets practically overflowing with paperwork, and a private coffee machine in the corner.

"Well, I can see you've definitely one-upped Ozpin in one aspect."

"Jaune!" Oscar yelled with excitement as he rose from his desk and went to hug him. "Gods, it's been so long!" They embraced for a moment, before Oscar separated and went to go right back to work. "I dig the beard! I tried to grow one, but facial hair doesn't really run in my family. So, I see Ruby's brought you back for the teaching position?"

Jaune nodded. "If you'll have me."

"Of course! You wouldn't start until next semester, naturally, and you'll need to come up with a curriculum and get it approved, but if you think that you're up for it, we'd be glad to have you."

"Sure. I'll get to work on that… anything in particular you think I should cover? Also, any paperwork I need to fill or anything?"

"Emerald will fill you in on that sort of thing. Speaking of which, where is she?" Oscar reached across his desk and pressed a button.

"Emerald?"

"What is it, boss?" her voice came back through the sound system.

"Jaune's here about the teaching position."

"Wait, Ruby actually got him out of his hovel?"

"We can hear you, Emerald."

"Yeah whatever give me a sec, I'll be right there. Don't go running off to another farm at the end of the world in the meantime, 'kay?"

The call buzzed off. As they waited, Jaune briefly considered turning back. Leaving now and doing exactly what Emerald had said.

He dismissed the thought. He had his chance to stay hidden. He had to own up to his actions, all of them. He glanced at Ruby, who was talking with Oscar about a joint-training initiative between the military and the Huntsmen.

_There's only one way to make that right,_ he thought.

When Emerald entered, Jaune blinked several times in shock.

"Wow, and I thought Cardin let himself go…"

She flipped him off. "Yeah, fuck you too Jaune. Welcome back."

Emerald had gotten multiple tattoos across her arms, torso, legs, neck… basically anywhere that she had visible skin. It was nothing petty or made for the simple appearance, however - Jaune recognized that they represented some of the most important moments in the War, probably across her whole life as well. There was one for when she and Mercury defected from Salem's faction, one for the Fall of Beacon, one for when she met Cinder, and a few others he couldn't place. She had also changed her hairstyle, no longer wearing her hair cut short with two extended twintails. Now, she wore her hair up in a bun, like Glynda used to. It was a little disconcerting, to be honest. She even wore glasses in a similar style.

"Is reading paperwork actually that bad for your eyes?"

"Do it for ten years and see what happens. What do you need, anyway?"

"Oscar said you had some paperwork for me to fill out, and a curriculum to work around?"

"He said _I_\- Oscar!" Oscar jumped and turned away from Ruby. "Yes?"

"You said that you were going to do the paperwork for Jaune!"

He chuckled nervously. "Uh, did I?"

She gave him a glare that would do Glynda proud, as Oscar quickly cleared space on his desk and rummaged around. His eyes widened as he found the paperwork.

"Ah! Yes, I did. I'll get right on that. Jaune, I'll have all this ready for you tomorrow, so come back then, alright?"

"Sure."

As Emerald nodded, satisfied that things had gone her way, she glanced back at Jaune. "Jokes aside, it's good to see you back, Jaune. I'd hug ya, but the kids might see, and then I'd have to kill you. And them."

"No love from the Deputy Headmistress?"

"_Someone_ has to be the firm one," she said, raising her voice just high enough for Oscar to hear, who coughed, embarrassed. Ruby laughed and slapped him on his back, making a whip-cracking sound.

Despite herself, Emerald laughed at that, before turning back to Jaune. She patted his shoulder and said, "Look, once you get settled in, let me know if you need anything, alright? I'm in charge of logistics and a lot of the bullshit around here."

Jaune nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you again soon."

She nodded back before leaving, giving Ruby a quick wave as she turned out the door.

After they said goodbye to Oscar, Ruby walked Jaune around Beacon, taking him on a tour of the new facilities and meeting up with some of the others.

Afterwards, they took a private Air Bus down into the city, so Ruby could quickly check on some projects she was overseeing, and then go eat dinner at Taiyang's place with the kids.

"I still can't believe Coco's teaching History."

"Yeah, she got all curious about Ozma and whether there were any records of his past lives. She hasn't found anything concrete, but she thought that he might have been responsible for the original Vacuan Agrarian Revolution, which is probably why she was researching Agriculture."

"What does Cardin teach anyhow?"

"Oh he doesn't teach, but he might as well with how much he hangs around the school. He's my liason between the Valean Military and Beacon."

"What's his rank?"

"Lieutenant Colonel. He doesn't wear the uniform outside of ceremony because, in his words, 'Only a tool cares about the uniform'."

Jaune glanced at Ruby, fully decked out in her General's uniform, cape included.

"Right."

Ruby blushed. "Look, I have to wear it while I'm working. It's mandatory for me! Cardin gets some leeway because of his job, but he really is supposed to be wearing it."

Jaune chuckled at her expense before reaching over and grabbing her hand. Ruby looked up at him, curious by the sudden contact, and waited.

"Look, Ruby, I… I haven't thanked you yet."

He paused, and Ruby said nothing, waiting for him to let out whatever it was that he'd been holding in all morning.

"When you came and found me, I was… Angry. I was angry that after ten years of nothing, of Blake, Weiss, Ren and Nora avoiding talking about you to me, and me avoiding asking about you, you decided to pop up out of nowhere and reinsert yourself into my life. Angry that you disapproved of the life I'd chosen for myself."

"It wasn't a bad life, Jaune."

He looked down at her.

"Farming, clearing out Grimm… it wasn't bad. But I know you. For all that you were living well out there, I know you wanted _more._ It's what brought you to Beacon in the first place."

"That was a long time ago."

"It was. And yet, it feels like just yesterday you were helping me up after I sneezed an explosion all over Weiss."

They both laughed at the memory.

"Anyway, my point is, you were right. I was happy there, but there was still some part of me that wanted more. Some part of me that missed all this, that missed you. So thank you, Ruby. Thank you for bringing me back."

He breathed out and squeezed her hand harder. She reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"You don't have to thank me. I wanted you back. I missed you, too. And the kids deserved to know their father."

"Right, the kids… Ugh, I can't believe _I'M_ the Raven. I'm gonna have to make it up to them."

Ruby giggled. "You'll be fine. They're curious about you. They've grown up hearing about you, about the things we did… edited versions, of course. But they know that you joined Beacon with no training, that you led your own team, that you saved us time and again, either with your strategies, your skill, or your Semblance. They've never been angry about your absence. Just… curious."

"But they should be angry. They should be suspicious of me, regardless of what you've told them. I've missed- gods, ten years with them. I've got a lot to live up to."

"You won't have to do it alone."

Jaune nodded. "I know. I need to thank you for that, too."

* * *

After a quick stop by Fort Port - a new installation named in honor of the professor - Ruby and Jaune began walking out into the city, towards Taiyang's apartment. Ruby could have ordered someone to drive them, or gotten a cab called, but Jaune wanted to walk through the city, to see how things had changed. She had changed out of her uniform and into civilian clothes, though her weapon still hung openly from her hip.

For one, Ruby pointed out that Melanie Malachite had closed down The Club and opted to open a small cafe, though she still wore her own personally designed outfits, which tended to polarize the clientele. Though, she had befriended Coco over their love of fashion. The old shopkeep they knew had retired, and had moved to a condominium on the coast of Vytal. Velvet had retired from being a full time Huntsman due to her injuries, and was now the Chief of Police, though in what free time she had, she often worked together with Coco. A few shops had closed, some streets had changed, there was a new library, a new movie theater, and other new things all around the city.

Jaune couldn't help but be awed by the changes. It felt like he was seventeen again, seeing Vale for the first time, staring in wonder at the sights. And yet, he also felt a sense of withdrawal - the city he knew was gone.

Noticing this, Ruby wrapped herself around his arm, clutching it close, going beyond simple hand holding. Jaune paused and smiled at her, before pulling her in for a hug.

They stood there for several moments, on the side of the walkway, simply feeling at peace and gaining a sense of serenity from each other's presence. Despite himself, Jaune cried, finally letting out what he had been holding in since the first saw the monument - letting go of the pain and grief he felt as he read each and every name inscribed on it. And then, eventually, the tears were those of joy. Joy, at being reunited with the woman he loved. Joy, at knowing that his friends still truly cared for him. Joy, at learning that he was a father. Relief, at realizing that the war they had fought, and all they had lost, had truly been for something - that in the end, it truly was worth it all, to work and struggle to protect those too weak to protect themselves.

Eventually, they separated, and Ruby and Jaune both ignored the wet stains on their shoulders. "So," Ruby said after they collected themselves, "you ready for dinner?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah."

As they began walking again, however, Jaune stopped. "Actually Ruby, you go on ahead. I need to do something real fast."

"I can come with you. It's no big deal."

"No, it's something I need to do alone."

"Oh… alright then. Try not to be late, okay?"

* * *

With a deep breath, Jaune knocked on the door.

Taiyang gave Jaune an even stare as he opened the door. "Well well, look who's finally come out of their hovel."

"Okay, what's with everyone calling my farm a hovel? It was not a hovel! I had three-hundred acres! _AND_ I was expanding too!"

Taiyang chuckled. "Anywhere on the outskirts is a hovel, Jaune."

Jaune grumbled as he stepped through the door, being rushed by Jacob and Yang. "Dad!" they ran up, Ruby right behind them, and held their arms out expectantly. Without hesitation, Jaune reached out and held out some candy - only for Ruby to speed over and snatch it out of his hands.

"Aw, mom, come on!" they cried, now reaching up to her.

"Not until after dinner!" she scolded before winking at Jaune and walking down the hall.

"She's really got a good handle on them," Jaune muttered, impressed.

"She should, with all the time she's had with them." Taiyang wheeled himself over and patted Jaune's back. "Don't worry. You'll get your time with them. Take it from me, it's gonna be rough, especially with all that you've missed… but there's no underselling the value of having both of your parents with you."

Jaune nodded. "Thanks, Taiyang."

"Sure thing. Now come on, we've been waiting for you. Dinner's getting cold."

"Oh, one thing I need to ask you first. Before we go on."

"Can't this wait?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. It's better to do this sooner than later."

Taiyang nodded and turned the wheelchair around to face Jaune. "Okay, Jaune. Ask."

Jaune took a deep breath, summoned his courage, and opened his mouth to speak.

* * *

_They were losing. Badly._

_Cinder was tearing through them like a buzzsaw through paper. Yang's prosthetic had been blasted to pieces by a fireball, and if the stray limb on the floor was any indication, she now needed one for her leg as well. Blake was screaming, hands clutching the top of her head, where her ears, once standing proudly, had been severed off. Weiss was unconscious to the side, now sporting a matching cut on her right eye, though if the blood loss was any indication, this one was much deeper._

_Ren and Nora had been hit by the first fireball, and had been blasted out of the building entirely. They had held out hope that they would get back, but the odds of that seemed lower with each passing moment._

_Neo was pinned to the wall, her own sword stuck in her shoulder. She was conscious and trying to break free, but couldn't muster the strength._

_Mercury was lying under some rubble, his prosthetics crushed. Emerald and Jaune were both out, lying close to each other, having been knocked aside by the same swipe, Jaune jumping to cover Emerald with his shield after they had turned on Cinder. It hadn't been enough._

_Oscar, Qrow, Maria, Ironwood and Winter were in another room entirely holding back Tyrian, Watts, and Hazel, albeit barely. _

_It was just them and Cinder._

_And Cinder was more than enough._

_Ruby was barely holding on as it was, only able to stay on the defensive, blocking each wild strike from Cinder with the shaft of Crescent Rose, or only able to dodge at the last second with a burst of her Semblance. She had thought of using her Silver Eyes to weaken Cinder, but she couldn't concentrate enough while being attacked._

_Cinder laughed as she struck, and this time Crescent Rose split apart as Cinder's fiery blade crashed through the shaft, knocking Ruby backwards onto the ground. As she struggled to sit up, arms reaching out for a rock - or something, anything - her eyes looked behind Cinder and noticed Jaune, now conscious. He was shaking Emerald awake, pointing to Cinder and muttering something. Emerald nodded. Slowly, quietly, Jaune rose and picked his sword up off the ground, taking care not to scrape the blade against anything. Emerald reached her hand out to Cinder, her Aura flaring briefly as she activated her Semblance._

_Knowing she had to help keep Cinder distracted, Ruby spoke up. "You'll never get away with this, Cinder! Ozpin and Uncle Qrow will finish off your friends in the other room soon enough, and then they'll kill you!"_

_Cinder laughed as Jaune inched forward, stepping lightly as he kept his sword ready._

_"And what do you think they can do against me? I killed Ozpin at the height of his power- in his new body, killing him again will be as easy as killing you and your friends was!"_

_With that, she stabbed down, blade aimed at Ruby's heart._

_Suddenly, a red blade struck out from a portal, with a woman behind it- Raven Branwen came through, deflecting Cinder's sword and knocking it out of her hands._

_"You-!"_

_Jaune took advantage of the opportunity and didn't let Cinder finish her sentence. Now within five feet, he rushed forward and grabbed her hair with his left hand, pulling her back and off balance as he thrust his sword through her back, the horizontal blade severing her spine before bursting through her chest. "That was for Pyrrha!" He roared._

_Cinder only offered a choking gurgle in reply as her Aura flared, a bright orange glow bursting from the open wound before racing back and slamming into Emerald, causing her to scream as the Maiden's power imprinted itself on her._

_With a wrathful cry, Jaune tore his blade back from Cinder's body before throwing it on the ground, collapsing and beginning to cry from the shock of what he'd done._

_Ruby started to reach for him, but stopped and looked to Raven. She simply nodded toward Jaune. "We'll talk later."_

_Ruby nodded back and went over to Jaune, embracing him and trying to calm him down. It didn't quite work, and she soon began to cry as well._

Ruby's eyes slowly opened. She could tell that the dream had caused her to cry in real life, rubbing her eyes dry and looking around. For a moment, she expected to find Jaune lying next to her, but remembered that he had opted to sleep on the couch, to Taiyang's approval.

She sighed and got up, checking the clock - 3am - and left the room, mentally preparing for another sleepless night. She was, oddly, not surprised to already find Jaune in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea with another ready before an empty seat.

"Is your Semblance precognition now?" Ruby joked as she sat down, accepting the cup with a thanks.

Wordlessly, their hands joined on the table, the simple act fast becoming a comforting routine between them.

"No, nothing like that. I just had a feeling."

They sat there for a while, saying nothing as they drank. Eventually, Jaune spoke up.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you wait ten years to talk to me?"

She said nothing.

"I mean, I can understand that you were mad about Qrow, and busy with the kids and your work, but… I can't imagine you were just waiting for Oscar to have a job opening for me."

Ruby breathed as she considered his words, considered her answer, and ultimately settled on telling the whole, unaltered truth. After all, that was what they'd promised each other when they realized their feelings together, that night before the assault on Salem's tower.

"For a while, it was just anger that kept me from contacting you. Anger about Qrow, about you leaving with no trace, about me being pregnant without any preparation… that faded, but it was slow. I guess it first started when the kids were actually born, and I looked at them for the first time. Knowing that you had helped with making two of the most beautiful things I've ever seen - that's when I started to calm down about it all. But it was still slow going. Even with my dad and everyone helping out, being a single mother isn't easy, especially when the mother in question is a full time member of the military. It took a long time to reach a level of… normalcy about the whole situation. Maybe four years. And when I reached that equilibrium…"

"You didn't want to stir things up again by bringing me back?"

Ruby nodded. "I'm ashamed to say it. But yes, I was scared of- rocking the boat, so to speak. I didn't want to risk the peace I'd worked so hard to earn for myself."

"So what changed?"

"Well, like I told you when I found you, I missed you. Even when I was mad, I missed you, and that just got stronger as the years went by. But I was too scared to just… up and find you unannounced. It wasn't until Oscar brought up the position that I thought I had a good enough excuse to go looking for you, not as a friend or lover-"

"But as a colleague?"

She squeezed his hand. "Yes. And looking back at how easily you're coming back into my life, back into Beacon, maybe my fears were unfounded, but-"

Jaune shook his head. "You don't have to apologize for being afraid, Ruby. It's understandable that you'd be… Apprehensive, about me coming back. But I'm glad that I came back. Especially since it brought me back to you."

They continued to sit in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence as they drank. Eventually, they finished and prepared to go back to their rooms, to try and get some small bit of sleep once more.

Ruby paused as once more, Jaune grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Yes, Jaune?" she asked.

He let go as she turned to face him. "I… as soon as I decided to come back, when I knew you still loved me, I knew I would have to do it right. All of it. Not just coming back to Vale, but coming back into your life, I wanted to-"

He stopped, searching for the words. Finally realizing he had nothing more to say, he got off his chair and got on his knees. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a small box.

Ruby's eyes widened and she took a step back in shock, but Jaune pressed forward undeterred. "I talked to Taiyang about this earlier. Like I said, I wanted to do it right, and I wasn't sure about when, but… no better time than the present."

He opened the box to reveal a small golden ring, with a large ruby surrounded by small diamonds inset in the center.

"Ruby Rose, will- will you marry me?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth that Ruby tackled him, pressing her lips against his in an obvious answer.

"Yes," she whispered as their lips parted, "Yes, I will."

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Well, that's the end of **An Arc's Promise**. Hope you all enjoyed. There's a lot of room for this "Ten Years Later" idea to grow, but I want to get back to **Sins of the Forefathers**.**

**There were a lot of things I wanted to expound on in this chapter that didn't quite make it in due to it breaking the pacing. **

**A basic list of things:  
-Taiyang came through a portal along with Raven and helped Qrow fight Hazel and co. in the other battle.  
-Taiyang is paralyzed from the waist down. It's not a Mercury situation with him.  
-Yang losing her leg is why she died in the final battle. She wasn't fully adapted to a prosthetic leg.  
-At some point, Raven died, which is why Yang had the Maiden's Power.  
-Emerald is _still_ the Fall Maiden.  
-Neo was the Summer Maiden. Yang was Spring. Obviously, Weiss was Winter.  
-Are Emerald and Oscar in a relationship? I dunno, maybe. The kids ship it.  
-Emerald and Mercury betrayed Cinder because Mercury helped Emerald see that Cinder didn't really care for her.**

**Review Responses (from newest to oldest):  
(Chapter 2 Reviews)  
Draco38:** Hey, thanks!  
**PineapplesanPizza and MidKnightMoonglow99: **Thanks for bringing this to my attention, it actually wasn't my intent for the chapter to be spaced like that. Twas a computer error resulting from transferring the chapter over onto the site.  
**Dragon lord Syed 101: **Hey thanks, glad you enjoyed.  
**Guest who hates the fic:** Don't you have better things to do than read things you dislike?  
**Guest commenting on the kid's age:** Yeah, I'm not great at writing kids. I'll get better as I keep writing though.  
** 343:** Honestly, someone should. Dunno where they'd take things though.

**(Chapter 1 Reviews)**  
**aSinglePancake:** I didn't really see it as guilt tripping. She explicitly said she wasn't mad at him for leaving. She had her own reasons for not looking for him.  
**Engineer1869: **Wish granted.  
**Mr. What If: **Wish partially granted. I guess.  
** 343:** The fast pace was a result of the fact that the whole thing was pretty unplanned and a spur of the moment thing. Hope you enjoyed this follow-up.  
**The Guest that told me the fic was trash:** Yeah whatever  
**Thunderwolf7226: **Thanks. Glad you enjoyed.  
**Guest who thought Jaune was gonna catch hell: **Kinda I guess. A full-blown fic could probably run through that line of conflict.  
**death'sgodson1224-DGS and Mr ChubbySnorlax619: **Glad you enjoyed. Hope you liked this little finale.  
**JamesAsmodeus:** There's no really good explanation for that, but I hope Ruby's sufficed well enough. Again, that was a natural consequence of the lack of planning on my part. Parental/Child conflict between Jaune and his kids could definitely be a story arc for a full length fic.  
**carpenter656:** Well, here's more. Hope you enjoyed.  
**Dragon lord Syed 101:** Seems to be a common suggestion, lol. Thanks for reviewing.  
**Dumbass0: **Hey, welcome back to another one of my fics. Hope you enjoyed this one too.  
**Guest who's into Lancaster:** Hey same. Though I do also enjoy Arkos and the occasional Jaune crack-pairing. My faves in that regard would have to be Jaune x Emerald and Jaune x Neo.


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